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By Jesse Gill

CITY HALL

Busy agenda set as Medicine Hat city council meets for final time before election

Oct 6, 2025 | 1:29 PM

Medicine Hat city council will meet Monday in council chambers for what is expected to be its final meeting before the fall civic election.

On the agenda is amending the procedure bylaw, which is recommended to have a second and third reading to be passed.

It is set to change the start time for council meetings to 4 p.m. with a closed session to follow. The latest a council meeting can currently end is at 11 p.m. A revision is expected to adjust this to 10 p.m.

Another topic will be legal representation and indemnification of council members and employees.

Four options will be presented to the council, with the proposed amendments intended to ensure that only the council has authority to make final decisions with respect to discretionary commitments to indemnify council members or pay their legal fees.

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The intent would also mitigate potential confidentiality, reputational, perception, individual psychological and other risks associated with a higher number of individuals being aware of or involved in particularly sensitive legal and/or indemnification matters involving city staff.

The implementation of a non-profit operating grant program will be up for discussion.

If approved, the existing non-profit capital grant review committee would be tasked with developing the new program. The committee would determine eligibility requirements, program criteria, scoring rubric, and define outcome measures consistent with the current capital grant framework.

Council will also review the results of the recently completed public engagement survey on the development of an outdoor pool on the south side of the community and the construction of sports fields in Brier Run.

They will then provide approval, direction, and funding in the amount of $3,900,000 for preliminary design, to be funded through capital reserves.

According to the agenda documents, the development would result in an estimated 3.5 to 5 per cent property tax increase, inclusive of capital and operating costs, if no third-party funding were available.

A recommendation is set for the City Council to approve the establishment of the Southeast Alberta Economic Opportunity Advocacy Committee and appoint an elected official to the advocacy committee at the upcoming municipal organizational meeting.

A five-year regional initiative was developed in 2024 with five other municipalities, including the Village of Foremost, Town of Bow Island, Town of Redcliff, County of Forty Mile, and Cypress County, to develop the Southeast Alberta Economic Strategy and Action Plan.

A regional steering committee, represented by a member of each municipality, will oversee implementation of the action plan.

The committee is designed to advocate for and support the combined priorities of these municipalities.

A 2026 budget increase of $107,571 will be presented for final approval to account for the mayor and council salary and wage increases, with funding through operating reserves.

Council during a meeting on Sept. 15, 2025, had approved a salary increase from $52,977 for council to $60,236, while keeping the mayor’s salary at $159,176.

The number that had been approved for the 2026 budget was lower than the totals for both the council and the mayor, requiring the budget adjustment to cover the cost.

A recommendation to enhance the City of Medicine Hat whistleblower policy is being sponsored by Councillor Shila Sharps.

The policy is in place to be a mechanism for employees and volunteers to disclose wrongdoing.

There are four proposed revisions included.

Extending eligibility to contractors, suppliers, and members of the public.

Introduce an independent, third-party reporting mechanism that allows for anonymous disclosures.

Strengthen anti-retaliation protections for whistleblowers.

Provide annual, anonymized reporting on the number and types of disclosures received and outcomes to the council.

It would be recommended to be brought up with the new council before the end of the year.

The agenda lists a recommendation by the council to direct administration to immediately pay and reimburse legal fees incurred by Mayor Clark in relation to the Code of Conduct Complaint and judicial review in the amount of $59,675.68.

This amount had been denied previously during a council meeting on Aug. 18, 2025, with only $5,841.94 of the total ask of $76,017.62 returned to Mayor Clark.

If approved, the mayor would still be without $10,500 of her total ask. That total would represent the fees incurred by her to ask for a legal opinion regarding the authority of City Manager Ann Mitchell to carry out a reorganization unilaterally.

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READ: Medicine Hat mayor to receive small portion of legal fee ask

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